The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisations in the Central African Republic (CAR), the Ligue centrafricaine des droits de l’homme (LCDH) and the Observatoire centrafricain des droits de l’homme (OCDH), welcome the National Assembly’s recent adoption of a law abolishing the death penalty in the country and encourage the Head of State to promptly enact it.
On 27 May 2022, Central African deputies voted by acclamation the law proposing the abolition of the death penalty in the Central African Republic (CAR). Although the country had not practised capital punishment since 1981, observing a de facto moratorium on executions, our organisations welcome this official, legal elimination of the death penalty as a criminal sanction.
“The abolition of the death penalty in the Central African Republic is a further step in the continent’s trend towards abolition of the death penalty and, more broadly, towards greater respect for international human rights standards,” said FIDH’s president, Alice Mogwe, who is strongly committed to the abolition of the death penalty in Africa and worldwide.
Our organisations insist on the need for the Central African Republic to proceed with the rapid promulgation of this law in order to confirm the process of abolition of the death penalty at the national level. We also encourage the Central African Republic to ratify the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty in order to reinforce this already historic decision.
If the law is enacted, the Central African Republic will become the 24th member country of the African Union, after Chad in 2020 and Sierra Leone in 2021, to abolish the death penalty.
“It is remarkable that the adoption of this law to abolish the death penalty comes at a time when the Central African Republic continues to be the scene of a devastating armed conflict, in which many serious crimes are committed. This step forward sends a clear message that it is possible to fight impunity while respecting human rights,” said Evrard Bondade, secretary general of OCDH.
“This law, which will not prevent war criminals from being brought to justice, is a major step forward for human rights,” said Joseph Bindoumi, president of LCDH.
FIDH is a founding member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and a member of its steering committee.
Source link : https://www.fidh.org/en/region/Africa/central-african-republic/central-african-republic-set-to-abolish-the-death-penalty
Author :
Publish date : 2022-05-27 07:00:00
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
